Scoutmaster Musings

Day 20: Scout Buddies

Day 20: Attended the last Blue Gold of the season and watched a pair of scouts welcome our last new scout into the troop.

Had the first scoutmaster conference with a new scout all eager to get going. He completed the Joining requirements and is anxious to get his Scout badge and neckerchief.The past couple years, we've tried something we called "Scout Buddies". The SPL passes a sheet of paper with the names of the new scouts around to the older scouts during their patrol time at a troop meeting. Scouts write their name next to one of the new scouts. The hope is that the older scout or two will make a specific, meaningful effort to make that new scout feel welcome and part of the troop, without telling the scout what's going on.I don't like doing this because it artificially forces behavior which I'd hope would happen anyway. It can also give an older scout the idea that he 'just' needs to deal with one scout and not be friendly to the rest.I do like it because I believe it has really improved our retention rate and has caused more interaction from the older to younger scouts in this age-stratified troop.